Ministering as a team

One of the things I am learning about our church family is that many have aggressive agendas as to what the church should do (or not do) in ministry. That's not a bad thing, for it shows passion, commitment and a desire to do something for God.

Here's what I know: each ministry in our church is important. No one ministry is at the core of our church, each functions as a spoke of the wheel.

My goal and desire is to begin to balance out the passion and commitment I see for each and any individual ministry, with a desire to play (minister) as a team.

We are a team: Together Experiencing A Ministry.

Some football teams -- Notre Dame and Penn State, for example -- don't put the names of the players on their jerseys.

Lou Holtz, former coach of the Fighting Irish, said, "At Notre Dame we believed the interlocking ND was all the identification you needed. Whenever anyone complained, I told them they were lucky we allowed numbers on the uniforms. Given my druthers, I would have nothing more than initials indicating what position the wearer played. If your priority is the team rather than yourself, what else do you need?"

"Winning teams" have players who put the good of the team ahead of themselves.

Legendary football coach Bud Wilkinson said it this in The Book of Football Wisdom: "If a team is to reach its potential, each player must be willing to subordinate his personal goals to the good of the team.

...in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:5)